Thursday, June 17, 2010

Alison Dare's life is full of adventure thanks to an archaeologist mother, a superhero father and an uncle who is an international spy and master of disguise.

In the two short graphic novels I was sent for review, ALISON DARE: LITTLE MISS ADVENTURES and ALISON DARE: HEART OF THE MAIDEN, Alison and her two friends get to make wishes thanks to a genie, fight off evil Germans bent on stealing priceless treasures, and much more. It's clear, of course, that most of the more unbelievable parts of the story are figments of Alison's very active imagination.

Some of the jokes made by the adults are pretty corny, but Alison's antics seem like something that would capture the attention of preteens. At that age, I was definitely hankering for voyages to far off lands, and would have been an avid fan of Alison's.

Reading these two volumes, I wasn't clear on exactly when the stories are set. They seem to have an Indiana Jones vibe, especially with the antagonists being Germans, so perhaps they are set around WWII? Not sure.

In any case, part of the blog tour was to photograph Alison in our daily environment, and since I live in Germany, I created an adventure for Alison where she attempts to hunt down Baron von Baron on his own turf...

Alison's first hurdle is pushing the crosswalk button so she can cross the street.

And then there are these "freshly waxed" giant stairs to contend with (3 flights of them!)

Baron von Baron is guarded by the most ferocious giant cat in the Northern Hemisphere: Finn.

How do you think this story ends? Let me know in the comments!

Meanwhile, you too can contribute to Alison's adventure around the world! Just save this image, print and cut them out, then snap pics like crazy! Send your photo(s) to tundra@mcclelland.com and you'll be entered to win an Alison Dare prize pack! It could quite possibly include signed copies of the books and more!

Fin looks quite perplexed by Alison's presence. Now, I cannot personally attest to the ferociousness of this "most ferocious giant cat in the Northern Hemisphere" (he looks like one sweetheart of a fur ball to me), but I'm sure it was quite the epic battle. Not wanting to cast doubts on the ferocity of the Fin-ster though, my bets are that Fin ate her. :)